Online marketing can be difficult to get your head around, with so many strategies, algorithms, and platforms to consider. But if one thing is clear across all digital marketing, it’s that online reviews are great for your business.
Online reviews have surpassed word-of-mouth recommendations to become one of the most powerful ways to get people invested in your products, services, and brand. That’s because online reviews are so ubiquitous and people trust them in the same way they do recommendations from family and friends.
Online reviews also play a critical role in getting you to the top of local search results. In fact, reviews are among the top three most important elements of a Local SEO strategy, alongside maintaining your Google My Business and linking strategies.
If you want to take full advantage of online reviews, you’re going to need a healthy selection to choose from, and nothing says trustworthy quite like a 5-star review such as Supple Reviews.
To generate more 5-star reviews for your business, check out the 6 tricks and tips outlined below.
1. Follow Up with Satisfied Customers
When you think about online reviews, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?
Many of you probably think of dissatisfied customers launching angry rants at an unsuspecting business.
That’s because unhappy customers are much more likely to leave a bad review, whether that feedback is warranted or not. On the other hand, satisfied customers are probably busy enjoying your products or services and haven’t given a review a second thought.
To get your happy customers to leave a positive review, you need to actively follow up. There are several ways you can go about this.
You could ask them in person after you’ve made the sale. This is probably more effective in service industries where customers can see the results of your work immediately. For example, you come to their home, fix their leaking tap, and ask the happy customer to leave a review afterwards.
If your customer needs time to benefit from your product or service, try following up via SMS or email 24-48 hours after the sale.
2. Show Customers Your Appreciation
Online reviews are incredibly important to your business, with 93% of consumers agreeing that reviews affect their purchasing decisions. But your customers probably don’t know that.
If your customers knew they were doing you a favour, they would probably be more inclined to leave a review.
That’s why you should always briefly explain why reviews are important. Thank your customer for choosing your business and thank them in advance for leaving a review and helping you out in a small way.
This combination of explanation and appreciation can go a long way to securing more positive, 5-star reviews.
3. Include a Link and Make It Easy!
To make it as easy as possible for customers to leave a review, include a link to the review platform you want them to use. To maximise your Local SEO, you probably want customers to leave Google Reviews, which appear on your Google My Business Profile.
You can generate a direct link to your personal Google review page using the free Supple Review tool. Simply include your link at the bottom of your email or SMS to make it as easy as possible for customers to leave reviews.
Some other platforms you may want customers to leave reviews on include Facebook, Yellow Pages, Yelp, TrueLocal, and ProductReview.
You don’t want to give your customers too many options, so just include a link to the platform you’re trying to get the most reviews on.
4. Help Your Customer Write the Perfect Review
We’re not suggesting that you actually write the review for your customer or suggest they rate you five stars. This approach is neither effective nor ethical.
However, you can guide customers to ensure their review is useful both to you and to others. After all, a review with a brief explanation is better than a review that just leaves a star rating.
Here are some of the prompts you can use to guide your customer:
- Why were you looking for this product/service?
- What stood out to you about your experience?
- What was your overall impression of the product/service?
- Would you buy the product/service again?
5. Make the Review Your Reward
Just like we wouldn’t recommend writing the review or asking for 5-stars, we also wouldn’t recommend offering vouchers or discounts in exchange for reviews.
However, there are sometimes opportunities to reverse engineer this situation. If a customer wants to tip you or find a way to show their thanks, redirect this generosity into a review.
Swapping a tip or another reward for an online review might seem like a bad trade, but it can benefit you in the long-term. Customers in these situations might even be more likely to leave you that review because they already wanted to give you something for your good work.
6. Make Sure You Respond to Customer Reviews
Everyone wants to feel like they’re being listened to and that’s what responding to reviews does for your customers. That’s why you should respond constructively and positively to all reviews, including negative ones.
Research shows that the vast majority of people who read reviews also read a business’s response, so each response is talking to both past customers and potential future customers.
If your customers see that you regularly respond to reviews, that may also encourage them to leave their review, increasing your overall numbers.
Put it All Together and Start Benefiting from 5-Star Reviews
Now that you have all these tricks and tips, you can start putting your review strategy together.
Create a brief SMS or email that follows up on your service, thanks the customer, explains why reviews are important, and asks them to leave you a review. Don’t forget to include the direct link to your preferred review site and some ideas of what they can include in the review. Finally, remember to check your reviews regularly and reply to as many of them as possible.
Reviews have been beneficial for the SEO, online brand building, and overall revenue of many businesses. With these tips on your side, your business can be well on the way to reaping these benefits too!
